Coconut & Honey Shampoo

Unfortunately, there are no commercially available shampoos that are free of synthetic chemicals, fragrances and preservatives. Also, homemade concoctions of just liquid castile soap and baking soda are not good for the hair since they are not pH balanced and strip the hair of oils. Soap, even chemical-free cold processed soaps are also too alkaline for the skin. The following shampoo is better balanced for your hair and skin. You can lessen the amount of castile soap you use in this recipe as your hair gets adjusted to this shampoo. You can also use this as a body wash!

Ingredients:

1 cup coconut milk (you can buy frozen coconut milk in Asian markets or make your own with filtered water and dried, shredded coconut flakes blended then strained, canned coconut milk is okay but not recommended)

1 tsp. of cold-pressed avocado oil (optional – omit if you have oily to normal hair, use if you have course, dry hair)

Directions:

Dissolve raw honey in warm, filtered water (make sure water is not warmer than 100 degrees Fahrenheit or nutrients in honey will be destroyed)

Combine and blend all ingredients thoroughly except for the castile soap (if using)

Gently stir in castile soap with whisk (but not too much as it will foam)

Pour into small squirt bottles (the size depends on how much you use in a few weeks to a month) and store in fridge and freezer*

Shake bottle well before use, ingredients will separate, this is normal

Avoid eye area when washing. If shampoo gets into eyes, flush immediately with water.

*Because there are no preservatives, you should divide this batch into several small plastic or silicone squirt bottles that you can freeze and leave one in the fridge for regular use. This should last for 2-3 weeks in the fridge. Clearly label the bottle as shampoo so no one drinks it. Do not use if allergic to bee products.

Everyone has different hair so this formula may not work for you. This worked well for my fine (and damaged) hair, made my hair soft and didn’t tangle my hair (no conditioner needed). With regular shampoo and even the so-called “natural” ones, my hair would feel greasy after the second day but with this homemade shampoo, my hair doesn’t feel greasy even after the third day. This is because the ingredients in this formula balance sebum production. As your hair gets adjusted to this shampoo, you can use less castile soap for future batches. You may be washing your hair less often with this homemade shampoo!

If you’ve made and tried this shampoo, let me know what you think!

Updated 01/21/2016

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12 Comments

Hi Holly, canned coconut milk has been stored in the metal can for an unknown amount of time and therefore should not be used when it is being mixed with essential oils used in this recipe. Essential oils should never come into contact with metals. It’s easy to find frozen coconut milk packaged in plastic in Asian food markets or you can make your own coconut milk.

Hello, Your blog is over a year old. Are you still using the No Poo method you discuss? I am inquiring because I have very dry hair and scalp and just yesterday I tried your recipe and my hair was very oily afterwards. I rinsed with a ACV rinse later in the evening to to try to balance out the oils and it did not help much. Today, i wore it up in a braid. I read that there can be a transition period where your hair will be oily for up to a couple of weeks. Was this the case for you too?

I used this recipe and then rinsed it out followed by an ACV rinse and again rinsing. I find that my hair still looks and feels greasy. It actually looks greasier than it was before washing!
I did not use avocado oil or essential oils, also no castille soap.
Where did I go wrong?

you have to use liquid castile soap in the recipe or your hair will feel greasy. you don’t need avocado oil (it is optional) and you can also try decreasing the amount of coconut milk and/or increasing the amount of castile soap. ACV is also not necessary.

If you were using commercially made shampoo prior to trying this recipe your hair and scalp need to detox in a sense for a week or so. Your body needs to readjust to how much sebum your scalp needs to produce. Keep at it and see if your hair gets any better.

Jamie Ann Montiel, RN, BSN

Jamie Ann Montiel is a registered nurse and health consultant. She has experience in various clinical settings in the conventional medical system and has studied complementary and alternative approaches to preventing and treating disease. She researches, writes and speaks about health and wellness.

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